Playa del Cristo, Estepona: calm water, two beach bars and a lively crowd

Playa del Cristo is one of our favourite beaches in Estepona, and we keep coming back to it. It sits on the western side of the port, so when you come from the centre you pass the marina and you are there in a few minutes. It has calm water, two beach bars right on the sand and a crowd that never really leaves, not even in the quieter months. We have been many times now, and the atmosphere is always good.

A calm little bay

The beach is a shallow, half-moon shaped bay, and the water does not get cooled down by the currents the way it does on the neighbouring beaches. You can wander out quite a long way before the water reaches your waist, which makes it a lovely spot with kids, or for a swim on a day when the sea is rougher elsewhere. The flip side is that the same calm, enclosed water does not give you the fresh breeze you might hope for on a hot afternoon in August, so it can feel a bit like bath water. Some days that is a blessing, other days you wish there was a little more movement in it.

Getting there

Getting here is easy. Walk or cycle along the Senda Litoral, the coastal path, and you will reach the beach just after the port when you come from the centre. The path is flat and pleasant, with the sea on one side and palm trees on the other. You can drive too, but on a sunny weekend we would take the path instead, because parking near the beach fills up quickly.

Busy, even out of season

Do not let the quiet bay fool you, this is a busy beach. Even in the low season it fills up, and at the weekend the locals arrive in force, with families, groups of friends and people on paddleboards. The bars play music and the sunbeds can be hard to find by lunchtime. It is not the place for a solitary walk on empty sand, but that is not really what it is for. For us the buzz is part of the charm, everyone seems to be in a good mood and the atmosphere stays relaxed.

Lolailo and Havana Beach

Two beach bars sit on the sand here, and they feel quite different from each other. Lolailo is the livelier of the two. It stays open well beyond the summer months, has live music at the weekends and is a nice place for a long lunch, a cocktail or a drink while the sun goes down. The menu leans towards seafood and grilled fish, and it is the kind of place where you can happily linger.

Havana Beach is the more family-style choice. The food is simple beach cooking, with fried fish, rice dishes and plates to share, and there is plenty of room to spread out with the kids. Both bars are close enough to the water that you can order a drink and still keep an eye on the sea, so pick the one that matches your mood for the day.

Late afternoon and evening

Late afternoon is the moment to stay. When the sun drops over the water the light turns golden, and once the bars switch on their lights the beach looks completely different. The photo below was taken from higher up on one of the buildings, and it shows how the lights of the bars and the houses reflect on the water after dark.

Our verdict

Playa del Cristo is a beach for people who want calm water, a good lunch and a bit of life around them. It is not the wide, empty sand you find further along the coast, and on a windless day the bay can feel warmer than you would like. But we keep going back to it, and for us that says enough.